Idols

From the introduction to Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller:

The living God, who revealed himself both at Mount Sinai and on the Cross, is the only Lord who, if you find him, can truly fulfill you, and, if you fail him, can truly forgive you.

Goldberg on "Third Way" Politics

The "middle way" sounds moderate and un-radical. Its appeal is that it sounds unideological and freethinking. But philosophically the Third Way is not mere difference splitting; it is utopian and authoritarian. Its utopian aspect becomes manifect in its antagonism to the idea that politics is about trade-offs. The Third Wayer says that there are no false choices-"I refuse to accept that X should come at the expense of Y." The Third Way holds that we can have capitalism and socialism, individual liberty and absolute unity. Fascist movements are implicitly utopian because they-like communist and heretical Christian movements-assume that with just the right arrangement of policies, all contradictions can be rectified. This is a political siren song: life can never be made perfect, because man is imperfect. This is why the Third Way is also authoritarian. It assumes that the right man-or, in the case of Leninists, the right party-can resolve all of these contradictions through sheer will. The populist demagogue takes on the role of the parent telling the childlike masses that he can make everything "all better" if they just trust him.

Page 130 from Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg.

Carson on Biblical Theology

I have heard the term thrown around a lot and often have been left scratching my head. This explanation clarifys why:

"Biblical theology" has become a highly disputed expression. Some use it to refer to the theology of individual biblical books or corpora (e.g., the theology of Matthew, the theology of Paul). Others use it to refer to the theology of the Bible when the Bible is studied diachronically, over against systematic theology, which tends to be organized topically, synchronically. As subsets of this latter category, there are two further refinements. When some hear the expression "biblical thology," they think of how various themes can be traced right through the Bible, or through large parts of it...Others reflect on what I have called "the great turning points in redemptive history.

~D. A. Carson's Christ and Culture Revisited

Summer Happenings

Books read: Pride and Prejudice

Currently Reading: Calvin's Institutes, Liberal Fascism - Jonah Goldberg, Christ and Culture Revisited - D.A. Carson, History of the English Speaking Peoples - Winston Churchill, When Helping Hurts - Steve Corbett - Brian Fikkert, God-Centered Biblical Interpretation - Vern Poythress, and a plethora of baby books.

Home Projects: Installed Shower, Built Sandbox, Covered Outdoor Stairs, Painted Room, moved plants,

Trips Traveled: Iowa, Northern Minnesota

Weddings Attended: Sioux Center IA x2, Orange City IA, Coon Rapids MN

Education: Rosetta Stone for Espanol

Numer of Times Sailing with Jeremy: zero (I am 0 for 2)

Outings: Como Zoo, Renaissance Festival

How Republicans Can Build a Big-Tent Party
As much as I don't like to admit it, conservatives need moderates in the Republican party. However, moderates need to actually follow through on the principles that unite us. If they don't, the whole lot gets labeled as hypocritical. Another reason it's smart to make freedom/smaller government the thrust of the party is this pole. (H.T. http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/) Regardless of who runs for president this next time (conservitive or moderate), Republicans need someone who can eloquently and convincingly explain the conservative values that unite the party (unlike McCain) and then convince their own party to follow those values.

On Small Talk

Catherine Blyth in The Art of Conversation writes,

"The honor of small talk lies in paying others the compliment that their worth talking to, the power in sparking the everyday magic of intimacy."

Old Books

While reading "Reading Between the Lines", I was reminded of Lewis's advice that one out of every four books should be outside of your own time, and since you cannot read future books, you should read ones from the past. My last few books have been from within my time. Currently I am working on Doing Our Own Thing by John McWhorter, Reading Between the Lines by Gene Edward Veith Jr. I have recently read, Culture Making by Andy Crouch, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue by John McWhorter To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. My Grandfather's Son by Clarence Thomas, Assumptions that Affect our Lives by Christian Overman. I think it is time for an older book. While I really want to read Dickens or Dostoevsky, I am leaning toward Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin and it is time for me to read Calvin's Institutes.

Gold Investment

If gold is such a good investment right now, what idiot is selling their gold to all these new people? Can you say B-u-b-b-l-e ?

Expelled: Again

In World Magazine's Human Race section, they report that Ben Stein

withdrew as the University of Vermont's spring commencement speaker after the school received a flood of complaints, including one from evolutionist Richard Dawkins.

Curiously, Stein's main point in "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" was that proponents of Intelligent Design are kicked out of the establishment and marginalized for their views rather than debated in the marketplace of ideas, which is exactly what happened here. He may have spoken on economics, but the dissenters insisted on proving his point.

Economy

I don't think it should be about stimulus so much as about value creation.

Questions for Cultural Artifacts

I have started to read "Culture Making" by Andy Crouch. In the first chapter he mentions five questions to be asked about cultural artifacts that I find to be a revealing and worthy excercise.

1. What does this cultural artifact assume about the way the world is.
2. What does this cultural artifact assume about the way the world should be?
3. What does this crultural artifact make possible?
4. What does this cultural artifact make impossible (or at least very difficult)?
5. What new forms of culture are created in response to this artifact?

New Links

I am updating my links based on the blogs I have been reading that I find helpful.

Popular Mechanics has a lot of helpful tips (especially for men) and even had an article a while back that discredited much of the 911 conspiracy theory. There is an extensive archive of the old issues here.

Works and Days is a social commentary by historian Victor Davis Hanson. He has written quite extensively on classical history and history of war. You might call him a conservative. He has more articles here.

Greg Mankiw wrote my Economics textbook (Mine is an earlier edition). Brilliant man. I am not sure were he leans politically, but he makes a lot of sense and can dumb things down for the rest of us.

Ben Stein. Need I say more? Ok, Ben Stein on economics.

Instapundit being mostly political (with some entertainment mixed in) and leaning conservative. Updated very frequently.

22 Words is Abraham Piper's blog of brevity. He tends to be thoughtful and his topic range is wide.

On the "definition" of insanity.

Being once again irritated by the false definition of insanity, I hereby declare it a clichéd metaphor. Not only is this not a definition put forth by a psychologist, it is also misattributed to other non-psychologists like Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. According to Wikiquote, it was first recorded by the author Rita Mae Brown in the novel Sudden Death. Everyone knows that it is often foolish to use methods that have proved to fail, but the concept can be used prematurely to mock things that take time, perseverance, maintenance, and hope. It can also bring about cynical attitudes toward preventative measures that help but do not solve the problem. See the last paragraph in this article by Ed Morrissey on the war on drugs. Since brushing my teeth did not stop some cavities in the past, shall I stop brushing?

Bugs on a Tree

Heather recently recorded these on a tree in our backyard. Does anyone know what they are? If not, I will take suggestions for naming them...

Economy

I find a lot of this financial crisis news confusing. I had never even heard of Fanny and Freddie before, nor the Lehman Brothers. But in the midst of the falling sky there are two things that I never hear said.

The first is that the falling of house prices is great for buyers. The falling prices are not good for the subprime mortgage lenders when borrowers bail out, nor for people who recently bought a house and sell soon after. If I sold my house now, I would lose money because my house is worth less now than when I bought it (with maintenance and interest in top of it). Since I am not selling, I don't really care. Theoretically, this would reduce my property tax. And by the time I do sell, my house will probably be worth more than I paid for it, though perhaps not in proportion to inflation.

The second is that the people who really benefitted from the housing bubble are sellers. Ok, the lenders where getting checks during this time, too, but they are the ones losing money in this whole deal. Real Estate Agencies were booming as well, but I would imagine that many agents are out of a job right now, or looking for a new one. The same for developers; it does no good to develop when it won't sell. That said, in the past ten years, sellers upgraded and are enjoying the fruits of their bigger, fancier house.

So, whats the problem? The fear is that it will be very hard for people and businesses to get loans, unless there is a government bailout. When its harder to get loans, less people buy (like houses) or start up businesses which in turn hire people which in turn buy (like houses) and make the economy go around.

Quote by MLK on changing hearts

Here

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Media Bias in Plain Sight

I thought this was a clear display of media bias in at least one magazine, tabloid or not.

Passed Away

My Dad passed away on Saturday from liver problems. Your prayers are appreciated for my family.

Readings

For the past few months, I have been working my way through some theological books on Genesis, taking note of some insights and distinctions in interpretation.

#1 Rethinking Genesis is an exploration of the literary origins of Genesis, specifically a refutation of the Documentary Hypothesis which is flawed from its roots. Garrett takes a look at the different styles and genres in Genesis, and notices distinct patterns which point to the book's sources which he concludes were redacted by Moses.

#2 The Pentateuch as Narrative, I have only just started reading. It seems intriguing as it examines the relation between whole Pentateuch. How the different parts relate will influence how we interpret the text.




#3 God's Pattern for Creation is a fresh look at the creation story in light of man being made in God's image. God created the universe by forming it and filling it. In the same way, God commanded us to rule over the creation (forming) and to reproduce (filling). After the fall, God cursed our role by cursing the ground (making our forming more difficult) and increasing the pains of childbirth (making our filling more difficult).


#4 How to read Genesis did not really stand out in my mind, but it was a good overview of Genesis and is a helpful introduction to the book for those who are not familiar with it.





#5 Creation and Blessing, I am still working through, but it appears to trace certain themes throughout the book of Genesis. Nothing overly inciteful has come up yet, but I still have 500 pages to go.





#6 Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary introduces a methodology of interpreting story from a linguistic basis. Essentially, there is a change in verb tense from when a story is being set up or background information is being established, to when the story is being told. There were many other insights involved with this too numerous for this space.

From here I will be finishing some introductions to a couple of books, namely the Pentateuch as Narrative and the Holman Bible Atlas and will proceed to read through Genesis (and later the whole Pentateuch) along with the following books as they go in chronological order, Sailhammer's Pentateuch as Narrative, Brisco's Holman Bible Atlas, Vos's Biblical Theology, Josephus's Works and Ross's Creation and Blessing. I also have a friend who just wrote a book that I will add to the list. It is not for sale, yet and I do not remember what it was called. It has to do with Jesus in the Old Testament. After Genesis, I will drop Creation and Blessing since that will be finished and I will continue with the others adding Riddle of the Exodus by James D. Long and The Structure of Biblical Authority by Meredith G. Kline. After I finish the Pentateuch, I will reevaluate where I go from there. I will be done with my Greek course and will have more time to study my own interests. I may just continue my way through the rest of the Bible as Vos, Josephus, and Brisco go the whole way.

Details...

Judah was born on January 21, 2008. It was Monday morning. Heather's water broke at 8:00AM and we rushed over to the hospital after making arragements for our dog. She didn't start to have contractions until we arrived at the hospital. At the start Heather was determined to not have meds, but when the pain started to increase, the idea of pain killer started to become more desireable, moreso because the idea of several more hours of the pain appeared unbearable. The nurse brought in the epidural and made a call to the anesthesialogist. When the nurse checked Heather's dialation, we discovered that she was 100% dialated and that the epidural would not be happening. This was not what Heather wanted to hear. Since the time to start pushing had arrived there was nothing she could do. Heather did not have stirrups, so I held one leg and the nurse held the other. I was a bit concerned because we only had one birthing class. The doctor/nurse told us that the pushing would feel like and be similar to going #2. When Judah came out, it appeared that he was spring loaded. Fortuneatley, the doctor caught him. I had the privilage of cutting the umbilical cord and calling the gender, and I did both things right.

Judah was wisked away to NICU and Heather was given a room for recovery. Heather was out in two days. Judah is progressing. First he got off the respirator. Then he no longer needed an IV. After that they stopped monitoring his blood oxygen levels. His light and incubator were the next to go. Now his is in a crib with a heart and repiriratory sensor and a feeding tube. He has been nursing minimally for the past week, and has been progressing in his capacity.

We are both looking forward for the day when he comes home. But we are both very thankful for the grace God has given us and that there have been no complications.